Biggest Mako Shark Ever Caught?

Well this is supposedly the biggest male mako ever caught, or recorded for that matter. The females get much larger than this, but it’s still 624 pounds that I wouldn’t want to come across while out in the water. And kudos to the man who caught it because as he says, “We’re cutting him up right now. He’s getting steaked up and eaten. Everything will be used.’’ Because what’s the point of removing this creature from the ocean if you’re not going to use every bit of him?

A Scituate man reeled in a 624-pound mako shark Thursday, possibly breaking the record for the biggest male mako ever caught, a specialist said.

Taylor Sears, 20, a Massachusetts Maritime Academy junior who said he fishes every day of the summer, said, “I’ve caught a million sharks before, but never anything this feisty.’’

Dr. Greg Skomal of the state Division of Marine Fisheries said the 10-foot fish is the largest male mako shark ever to be recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and appears to be the largest male mako ever caught anywhere.

“We didn’t think they got this big, basically,’’ he said.

The charter fishing boat Sears was working on Thursday pushed out of Scituate Harbor at about 5 a.m. carrying a family of four out for a day of bluefin tuna fishing. The family’s father hooked a large bluefin at 9 a.m. and struggled with it for about 45 minutes.

Suddenly, a giant shark appeared and chomped the tuna in half.

“When I saw the shark, I said that would be a dream to catch,’’ Sears said, “so the family let me try.’’

Sears said he fastened a larger hook to the line, slid on a chunk of the tuna, and hooked the shark within minutes. Two hours later, they were able to secure the record-setting fish to the boat and began towing it back.

Sears caught the fish in the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank, a national marine sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay, about 18 miles east of Scituate.

The charter boat returned to Scituate Harbor at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Skomal arrived in Scituate yesterday morning to run standard tests on the fish.